Unkillable (Monsters Series #1) (Wattys2014)

Chapter 1: Heaven

I couldn’t see anything but blood and blackness. I was shot in the ribs, the forearm, and the leg. Pain was all I could feel. If I were to die today, I wouldn’t be worse than my life has become.

My own family just fed me to the wolves. They just kicked me over the Border River, which was called the Mississippi River once, a long time ago, long before I was even born, and ran for it. They even got a few shots in, well, all the shots.

Suddenly, I was floating. I felt like someone was holding me, cradling me in their arms. I didn’t feel any pain anymore. All the shrieking and gunfire was silenced. I did the last thing I thought I would do after being abandoned and left for dead on Liberal Ground by my own family.

I fell into a restful, dreamless sleep.

A long while later, after what seemed like hours, I felt someone breathing over me. I smelled a pleasant scent of roses and lavender with a touch of gunpowder. I felt someone sweep my hair from my face. I heard a small gasp.

"Beautiful," the sweetest voice I had ever heard sighed, "so...beautiful."

I doubt he’s talking about me, I thought, I’ve always been the ugly one, haven’t I?

I’ve never been at all good-looking by the Holy Land’s standards. Even my own family had the exact same blonde hair, green eyes, and orangey-tan skin as the rest of them, none of it natural. I used to have blonde hair, but I dyed it as red as a cardinal. I wished it was blonde now; then I would at least look normal. I didn’t even know this person, but he was now my favorite person in the entire world.

~

I awoke on a firm bed with handles on the sides. The walls were a grotesque pea green and the floor was dingy white tile that hadn’t been swept in a long while. I heard voices outside the white sliding door.

It wasn’t for a few moments that I noticed someone was with me. No, it’s not someone.

It was an angel. An angel in an army green military uniform.

I stood up, but as soon as I was on my feet, I nearly collapsed. The angel caught me before I hit the ground.

“Careful there, sweetie. You’re not strong enough yet.” the angel whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry, now. I’ll take good care of you.”

“Are you an angel?” I asked, feeling boneheaded.

“No,” He chuckled, as if the mere thought of it was utterly bizarre, “I’m just the colonel. Angel’s my name though.”

“It suits you.” I sighed. When did I get so fearless?

His cheeks turned a brilliant scarlet, making him look even more enchanting. My heart rate rose to a thousand beats a minute.

“Relax. You’ll be fine.” Angel whispered lulling, sweeping my dyed brick red bangs from my eyes.

I hadn’t realized that I had been hyperventilating.

Real smooth, Jesse, I thought, real smooth.

“I have to go check something at headquarters,” Angel whispered, perceiving my uneasiness, “but don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He stroked my arm as he walked, no, danced, out the white door that hissed as it opened. The skin that Angel had touched was experiencing a tingling sensation, as if the blood in my veins was carbonated water. The murmurs were louder as the door opened. The only thing preventing me from running after him was my injuries.